Guest #2: Shibuki Jun (aka Rika). Interviewed by Tsukifune Sarara.


Hello, everyone! Are you sparkling brightly every day? The second star we have as guest today already shines and sparkles daily, but she goes on increasing her brilliance: it’s our Moon Troupe’s own Charisma Star, Shibuki Jun! However, I am extremely saddened that there is hardly any time left that I can spend with Rika. Wanting to thoroughly analyze Rika’s radiance, I have written down a lot of questions. When I open my notebook, Rika bursts out laughing and asks, “Are you writing a thesis?” Of course, Ms. Rika! I’m gonna ask tons of questions, so please be prepared.

*Always have the strength to live with a smile on your face*

I twice had the honor of performing your roles in shinjinkouen. I would often follow you around restlessly when you were in the wings. You really are always in good spirits and actively enjoy being on stage.

“I think that everything comes out on stage. Big or small, everyone has some kind of worries, I think, and even if you’re not feeling well, you still have to go on stage. That kind of thing is something only that specific person is aware of, so of course even the audience doesn’t know. But if your heart is weak, that will appear on stage. The type of person who appeals to me is someone who allows themselves to grow, keeps things simple, and moves forward with a smile. I always try to bear in mind that I want to be that kind of person when I stand on stage. There’s not anything in particular that I think about so that I shine, but in that sense, I guess that I want to have a rich mind and heart.”

Come to think of it, I have never heard you say, “I’m tired”. Rather, I think that I always received energy from your smile.

“The truth is that I’m really tired. (laughs) But if you have to make it through the day anyhow, don’t you want to have fun while you do? Assume something bad happened in the morning. Instead of dragging that bad feeling around with you and performing, just absorb that negativity and enjoy the rest of the time you have left. If you’re caught up with that bad feeling too long, the bad morning turns into a bad day, right? Rather than getting trapped in that unpleasantness, I strive to move beyond it!”

I see! But that is an incredible strength, I think.

“I used to have a very negative way of thinking. So I tried my best to change that.”

I guess that because you knew your own weakness and did not turn your eyes away from it, you have gained an unusually strong spirit.

*Become purer with every year that passes*

When I watch your performances, from day to day I make new discoveries. I think that the stage is really fresh and alive. Your performances change rapidly, in a good sense.

“I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or not, but that’s my policy. Until the end of the last day, I want to press hard. I don’t want to be satisfied with the way I am now.”

I think that by watching you, I learned that theater is something you should never get used to.

“Choreographer Shimazaki-sensei used to say: ‘When people get injured, that part of them gets stronger. The heart is the same—as it gets wounded, it grows stronger and becomes able to tolerate different types of adversity. However, because you are artists, your hearts must not harden, your hearts must not stop feeling.’ The purity of looking at a flower and thinking it’s beautiful may be something that gets lost as you age, but I want to do the opposite and become purer as I grow older.”

Hearing these words brings back a particular memory. The first time that I had the honor of working with you was actually in my second year, in the Tokyo performance of “El Dorado” and “Alas”, soon after you transferred into Moon Troupe and right before I transferred to Cosmos Troupe. It was only briefly, but I was allowed to work together with you. Ah~ just remembering it makes me cry! On the final day in the training room for “Alas”, we were so busy that everyone, even I, had forgotten that it was my last day. But you, Rika, kindly said to me, “It’s the end, isn’t it.” I realized for the first time that my transfer to a different troupe was reality, and started to cry. Your heart is sensitive to different emotions and pays attention to other people. I think that is also the purity that you gain as the years go by.

*Make changes early*

One thing that is wonderful about you is how interesting your ad libs are. Even if there’s some kind of accident, with an ad lib you seize hold of the hearts of the audience.

“In the past, if a pirouette was even a little unsteady, for example, I couldn’t forgive myself, I just couldn’t. But then something happened and I changed. I made a major mistake in the last shinjinkouen. The stage was constantly revolving and there was a series of quick costume changes. I panicked. Even though I wasn’t supposed to go offstage, I ended up in the wings. I thought “Ah, I’m in trouble!” and went back on stage. “I went for a walk!” were the words that came to me in that moment. The entire audience was in an uproar, and I couldn’t forgive myself. Even after that, there were quick changes one after another and the performance went on, but I was angry. (laughs) And so I learned the scariness of the stage. I realized then that even if I don’t forgive my mistakes, I want to have the psychological strength to not drag them with me. Because I’m human, I will make mistakes. I don’t know what will happen. The important thing is, how will my character cope with it?”

Even in real life, that’s certainly the way it is…

“If you’re bound by the things you can’t do, eventually you’ll become unable do anything. Do you know? The kanji for ‘to be bound by, to adhere to’ is the kanji for ‘person’ fenced in by a square.”

I see! The important thing is to remove that fence and move forwards, without being only negative about things that are over and done with.

*Overdoing it is just right*

You have an amazing fashion sense. Even in the practice room, you choose something strikingly individual.

“Do you want to know why I do that? It’s because I want people to know me. When I was an underclassman, even though I loved to dance, I wasn’t put in any dance scenes. So I tried to appeal to the staff by wearing training clothes that stood out. (laughs) Among so many people, I wanted to have the teachers notice me. Of course, it’s good to have them recognize you by your real talent, but there are so many people that even among your classmates there are people you don’t know, and on top of that I was just an underclassman. You have to say ‘Please look at me’ and assert yourself. When I had a role with hardly any lines, I would make up lines by myself and silently say them to myself. I would play my role to the point that the teacher would say, ‘You over there, you’re overdoing it a bit!’ (laughs) ”

*Look forward to your future*

Even after you graduate from Takarazuka, no matter where or how you are living, I feel like you will keep evolving rapidly. I’m taking this too far, but in a few decades, I want to see what a cute, fashionably dressed grandmother you have become!

“(laughs) I might be looking forward to that myself. No matter what I do, I want to keep betraying things, but in a good way, and never be satisfied. I want to continue evolving. The world is full of things like illnesses of the mind, but the one who has to escape from all that is me, and the one who will live enjoying every day is also me. I strongly believe this because I’ve experienced firsthand that things will work out somehow.”

You say that an important thing for an otokoyaku is kindness. Until the end, I want to impress on my mind that kindness and strength. Rika, thank you for so much love.